You finally made up your mind and decided to add a photo scanner to your home office. Congratulations! Now comes the hard part—-what to look for prior to making your purchase.
RESOLUTION
Hands down this is the main feature to consider when shopping for a scanner. Resolution is measured in pixels per inch (dpi). At least 2700 dpi is required to enlarge slides and negatives for an 8 x 10-inch print. Keep that number in mind when you’re out shopping. Though for the most part the majority of photo scanners on the market today scan at least at 3,200 dpi.
NAME BRAND
I don’t know about you, but when I am shopping for high-tech equipment I stick with names I know and trust. I’m not advocating this for everyone, but it’s a practice that has served me well over the years. One of the most popular flatbed scanners on the market today is the Epson Perfection 3490 Photo. It retails for about $100 and has a 3,200 dpi optical resolution and a built-in adapter for slides and negatives. It also includes software that restores faded images. If you can afford it you might consider Epson’s 4990 Pro model. It sells for $600, but it can scan up to 24 negatives at once and includes a sophisticated software bundle for photo restoration and editing tasks.
Another popular (and relatively inexpensive) scanner is Canon’s CanScan 8400F. It sells for $150 and is capable of scanning photos, slides and film. It has 3,200 dpi optical resolution and includes re-touching technology, which gets rid of dust and scratches that are commonly found on older slides and negatives. Canon’s higher end 9950 model sells for $400 and can handle up to 30 negative frames at once, which is helpful when you need to archive mass amounts of photos.
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